Our youngest, according to her three older siblings, is spoiled. 

Since she was 3, she has dreamed up and hosted several different parties. Her first Halloween party took place when she was 3, and involved about four little friends whose parents came along. After trick-or-treating, we came back to the house and partied for around an hour before it was evident that bedtime was imminent.

I remember she wanted to sleep in her costume that night.

“And you probably let her,” said my second oldest.  

He is by far the biggest instigator of browbeating when it comes to how much we spoiled his baby sister.

In our defense, I must say the other three either had little interest in planning and hosting parties, or simply didn’t ask. 

The baby, theatrical since she exited the womb, would dream big and plan grand get-togethers. She never really understood how much work even a small party entailed, but Michelle and I scurried around and made it happen.  

Insert eye roll from three older siblings at this point.

In her small private school, the student body is pretty close. The population of the school is not big.  Therefore, this allows for a closeness among the grade levels that one wouldn’t have in a public school.  

Our daughter, although an upperclassmen, hob knobs with lower grade students too. It’s very nice to see. In a way, it’s a camaraderie that might look like a one-room schoolhouse environment from way back.

This year, invitations were given out at school and basically everyone was told to come. Teachers came. Parents of classmates came and brought their younger and older siblings.  It was fun.

Not knowing what to expect, Michelle piled on the junk food. She made mummy dogs, had a truckload of chips, had a s’mores station set up, and a variety of sodas and drinks ready to go. She made a crockpot of fantastic apple cider and had the obligatory cheese and crackers laid out.

We were ready.

In charge of games and frivolity, I naturally thought there would be plenty of opportunities to play outdoor games.  We borrowed a giant outdoor Jenga set, had a Toss-a-Cross (remember those?), horseshoes, and various other outdoor things.  We even pulled out the croquet set, believe it or not. The box of sidewalk chalk, always ready to go, was on hand as well.

In addition, we had game prizes which were actually left over from closing down my classroom in May. Somehow, many of the things I brought home with me were starting to resemble clutter, and I gladly handed them over to be given as game prizes or various contests.

Now, doesn’t that all sound like an idyllic time?  

Let me tell you how it really went down.

First of all, let me tell you there were fantastic parents and wonderful, enjoyable children involved.  When you have an outdoor party, you should expect that most of your well-laid plans will go south. There is very little structure, and in the end, we realized that this is what a party is really supposed to be like.  

The most structure that happened was when our authoritarian daughter held court and conducted secret balloting for the costume contest.  The eager winners flocked to the prize box and dug around to find a treasure.

Many of those treasures littered the garage and yard the next morning.  The stuff I wanted to get rid of the most is still at my house, waiting for the next opportunity to pawn it off on someone.

Our backyard fence was scaled a few times, to my amazement and astonishment. It’s not the type of fence that one climbs, yet I saw at least four kids do it with ease. No one was hurt.

Here’s another tip I have for you: don’t think that a bunch of pre-teens are going to play croquet or any type of organized game.  Croquet mallets became threatening weapons, as did pretty much any other game piece.

“Flirting” for that age group involves chasing one another around, taking hats and costume pieces, and having the other person chase you to get it. If that doesn’t work, why not pick up a croquet mallet and chase the other person to see how loud they will scream?

The only thing that DID happen was the consumption of large quantities of sugar. We had only a couple of marshmallows and hotdogs left. A few chip bags made it back in the house, but overall, the temptation to finish any party treats on our own was minimal.

The party was a success, but I must admit I was a little sad walking around the yard and garage the next morning. As I picked up a few things here and there, washed off a soda spill from the sidewalk and picked up random candy wrappers, I could still hear the echoes of  joyful screams and kind of feel the glow of the fun that was had.  

Might sound a little corny, but I think anyone who’s lived through a kid party can relate to my sappy sentiments. 

Don’t make too much fun of me. The croquet mallets are still out and ready for attitude adjustments.